By IANS,
Raipur : Bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh were left red-faced after parents of 11 minors refused to go back after they were called with their children for a state-sponsored mass marriage function, officials said Tuesday.
The women and child development department had arranged for the marriage of 18 couples in Durg district Monday evening on the occasion of Hindu festival Ramnavami. But many weddings were cancelled at the last minute after it was found that 10 girls and a boy were underage.
The function was organised under the state’s government’s Chhattisgarh Poor Girls Mass Marriage scheme. Durg is about 170 km from the state capital here.
Officials refused to conduct the marriage of the minors, who had come dressed in wedding attire, after they admitted they were 13-14 years old. But their parents termed it an insult by the government.
“We faced an embarrassing situation as parents and relatives of the minors insisted on the marriages, saying that they were persuaded by local officials to send their children to help the government achieve the target set for April in the district under the Poor Girls Mass Marriage Scheme,” an official of the women and child development department told IANS.
When contacted, Durg District Collector Subrat Sahu refused to comment on the incident.